BRANDS

BRANDS OF CELLAR DOORS

Many contractors won’t touch them again after their first attempt at an install. They are tough to demo, and require significant masonry work to reinstall. But we love them. Confident Home Remodelers is now marketing exclusively as a cellar door installer. We’ll replace or add cinderblocks as needed, or otherwise make your non-standard opening fit a standard size cellar door. The market isn’t well served in our area, and many people express frustration in finding an affordable company that they can trust to get the job done right for these installs.

Cellar doors are only found in the Northeastern United States, basically from Maryland to New England. In many parts of the country, basements are either rare, or local building codes historically did not require special ingress and egress to the side or rear yard. On rare occasion, a unit may be found outside of the Northeast geographical area. 99% of Cellar Door customers are replacing existing ones that have rusted out or got damaged, or to cover basement stairs that are open to the rain. They were popular for new construction mostly between 1900 and 1970.

Bilco , Steelway, and Gordon all offer foundation plates. To be honest, we don’t see any value in them. We never recommend these to the customer. It’s just another unnecessary part that can rust, and needs to be assembled and glazed. It’s very difficult to special order the correct size to fit onto the old foundation, without it being either too short or having an unsightly gap. When we find a foundation that is in miserable condition, we’d much rather skim coat over it with cement than to order these expensive foundation plates. The hydraulic anchor cement that we use lasts forever, so to us the idea of installing a foundation plate is a non-starter.

Steelway is our preferred brand, for various technical reasons. Most installers simply go to Bilco, because it is the most well-known brand. Those who specialize in cellar doors, or otherwise install a lot of them, will invariably shift their business over to Steelway. Once in a while, a customer will be firm that they want the "known brand", and will resist hearing that Steelway is better than Bilco. If a contractor can't explain why one brand is better than another, he shouldn't be in business. I will offer Bilco as an option, for a tad less.

STEELWAY

Steelway is Bilco’s biggest competitor, and their cellar doors are superior across the board. We have shifted to Steelway as our primary provider, and they are our primary recommendation in a sales presentation. Steelway is in business since 1963, and located in King of Prussia, PA, about 80 minutes from us.  www.cellardoors.com Steelway is our go-to source for any custom or odd-size unit, and they also make every size unit that Bilco does.

The advantages of Steelway over Bilco are as follows:

1. PISTONS --- Higher quality pistons, which open and close the doors. They open effortlessly. This is a must for children and the elderly, or for any high-use opening. Once a week, or more, is "high use". 

2. ROBUST AND STRONG --- More robustly constructed. Thicker gauge steel, and the top header (lentil) wraps around the sides, with an additional screw from the side. The bottom sill piece is stronger and more rigid. The hinges do not contact (rub) on the base

3. MORE CRITTER-PROOF --- The doors close tighter around the front. Yes, there needs to be a gap for moisture (condensation) to vent out, but Bilco's gap is too big. Mice, shrews, and small snakes can get in. Steelway closes much tighter. Cellar door installs are occasionally recommended by pest extermination companies, and all of these installs must go Steelway. 

4. PRIMER --- Steelway primer is smoother, thicker and harder than Bilco's. It resists rust longer, and it's much better for our glazing. Bilco primer is notorious for blistering in key spots, and that will cause failure of our glazing, or any painting. The Bilco powder-coated paint has problems, and it rusts through in mere months.

5. HARDWARE --- The machine bolts and nuts are far superior to Bilco's. They don't loosen during the install, or over time. Bilco's are so bad that their units cannot be assembled without lock washers, and they don't provide them. I have to buy my own.  Steelway also has a one-piece handle that does not leak, and their cotter pins have a superior removable design.

6. CUSTOM SIZES --- Steelway will make any size unit, either the flat ones or the triangle-base ones. 

7. FAR LESS FACTORY ERRORS --- The most common Bilco error is the top lentil being too long, causing the doors to "hang up" and not close securely. Doors also come slightly convex at times, and this causes gaps

8. LESS LEAKS --- No cellar door manufacturer will ever warranty against a drop coming in. The most common leak spots on a Bilco are thru the handle, at the bottom left and right corners, and at the top left and right corners. The Steelway design prevents leaks at these spots. 

9. QUICKER ASSEMBLY --- This is more of an advantage for the installer, but time is money, so it does carry over to the customer. 

10. GALVANIZED OPTION --- For an added cost, Steelway will manufacture units with galvanized steel to even further reduce rust. We rarely ever order this way, because our cement and our glazing seriously inhibits future rust. However, there are customers who want it galvanized, and it is available.

11. CUSTOMER SERVICE --- Both companies have good customer service. They answer the phone quickly, and they provide missing parts (it happens) or resolve problems. Steelway has assigned an Account Manager to our company, and I've personally met multiple levels of management over there. I have the inside track with Steelway to get things done, and that's important. The Bilco rep we knew retired, and his replacement lasted about two years. There is a new Bilco rep for installers in my region, who I've requested to talk with. He never returns calls or answers emails. Meanwhile, my business is drifting over to Steelway.

There aren't any major technical advantages that Bilco has over Steelway. It's a lop-sided comparison. For sure, Bilco has the branding and name recognition, and customers simply assume that the more well-know brand is better.

BILCO is actually a brand name. They are the industry standard, and have about 80% market share. Steelway is our preferred brand, but we will sell Bilco if the customer insists. Bilco was founded in New Haven, CT, and is headquartered in Ohio, with some production in New Haven. Bilco’s can be ordered at Home Depot, or for a little more money, almost every lumberyard or masonry supplier is registered as a Bilco retailer. Here is their website

https://www.bilco.com/

Bilco still makes most of the original sizes sold 80 years ago, except the shorty version of the O-series. Their main upgrade is hardware changes. Bilco units now comes standard with a piston pump for each door to keep it from slamming on people’s heads. Modern units also have a larger ventilation gap under the bottom front than in the past, to reduce rust, mold, and mildew problems. There are also optional “keyed entry” systems that can be installed on any Bilco unit. We’ve installed a few of them, at customer request. Bilco offers a powder-coated paint, which you'd think would be better than other paints, and has a one-year warranty. Based on how quickly they rust out, we suspect that it's installed over bare metal, without the Bilco primer. There’s six colors available. We strongly discourage the Bilco powder-coating.

A few decades ago, Bilco came out with polyethylene units called the “Ultra Series”. They started with the “C” size, 55” x 72”. There were problems with the Ultra Series, and Bilco never rolled out Ultra units for their other sizes. I will never install an Ultra Series. At some point, we expect them to be discontinued. Also, Bilco stopped making custom-size steel units some time ago, so we have to go with Steelway for these. We occasionally come across custom Bilco units in the field.

CURRENT MODELS WITH 90-DEGREE TRIANGULAR BASE

•  51” wide x 43.25” long x 52” high = Bilco SL (high slope)
•  47” wide x 58” long x 30” high = Bilco O (original)
•  51” wide x 64” long x 22” high = Bilco B
•  55” wide x 72” long x 19.5” high = Bilco C
•  Extensions are available for Bilco C only, 6” and 12”

Gordon is located in Southington, CT, and competes with Bilco. We install Gordon when the foundation size best fits a Gordon, and/or we are replacing an older Gordon, and it is not cost effective to get a Bilco. The metal thickness gauge is slightly thinner than Bilco, and they do not offer a piston pump. However, they will make any custom size. We typically install at least one a year of the Gordons. Gordon can be ordered at Lowes.



One serious limitation on the Gordon flat units is that they are exceptionally hard to assemble, and then cannot be unassembled for any reason. We suspect that the Gordon primer is reducing the diameter of the hole that receives the pin on the door, and this is the cause of tightness and a creaking noise.